This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/03/uk-ambassador-to-eu-quits-amid-brexit-row

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
UK ambassador to EU quits amid Brexit row UK ambassador to EU quits amid Brexit row
(35 minutes later)
Britain’s ambassador to the EU is reported to have quit his post less than a month after it was revealed that he said a post-Brexit trade deal with the bloc could take up to a decade to achieve. Britain’s ambassador to the EU has quit his post less than a month after it was revealed that he said a post-Brexit trade deal with the bloc could take up to a decade to achieve.
Government sources confirmed that Sir Ivan Rogers, one of the UK’s most experienced EU diplomats, told staff on Tuesday that he was stepping down early from his role, just a few months before Britain begins its formal exit negotiations with the EU. His resignation, first reported by the Financial Times, came almost a year before his scheduled departure in November. Government sources confirmed that Sir Ivan Rogers, one of the UK’s most experienced EU diplomats, told staff on Tuesday that he was stepping down early from his role, just a few months before Britain begins its formal exit negotiations with the EU.
Rogers angered Eurosceptics in December when it emerged he had told ministers it could take 10 years to negotiate a free-trade deal with the EU. Downing Street insisted at the time that the ambassador had been communicating some of the views of European leaders, rather than giving his own assessment. His resignation, first reported by the Financial Times, came almost a year before his scheduled departure in November.
Rogers, who conducted David Cameron’s renegotiation with the EU before the referendum, angered Eurosceptics in December when it emerged he had told ministers it could take 10 years to negotiate a free-trade deal with the EU. Downing Street insisted at the time that the ambassador had been communicating the views of some European leaders, rather than giving his own assessment.
While there was no official reaction from the Foreign Office to Rogers’ resignation, a Whitehall source said ministers were not surprised given he had been due to leave later in the year. It is understood discussions had already begun at a civil service level about finding a replacement before November. “It won’t affect any of the article 50 timetable at all,” the source said.
The Daily Mail claimed the knives were out for Rogers, saying there were “demands for Sir Ivan to be replaced with a diplomat who is more energetically pro-Brexit, amid speculation that his comments were deliberately leaked to undermine his position”.The Daily Mail claimed the knives were out for Rogers, saying there were “demands for Sir Ivan to be replaced with a diplomat who is more energetically pro-Brexit, amid speculation that his comments were deliberately leaked to undermine his position”.
Rogers, who conducted David Cameron’s renegotiation with the EU before the referendum, is reported to have told Theresa May that European politicians do not expect a deal to be finalised until the early to mid-2020s, according to the BBC. The Conservative MP Dominic Raab, a member of the exiting the European Union select committee, said it would have been more disruptive if Rogers had left in November.
Even then, such a deal could be rejected by any of the 27 national parliaments during the ratification process. “Sir Ivan is a distinguished diplomat with a long record of public service,” Raab said. “He didn’t exactly hide the fact that his heart wasn’t in Brexit, and he was due to step down in the autumn anyway. It makes sense all round to give the ambassador who will see the negotiations through some lead time.”
More details soon … The former Labour shadow foreign secretary and chairman of the EEU committee, Hilary Benn, told the BBC the resignation was “not a good thing” and the government would be under pressure to get a replacement up to speed to meet Theresa May’s timetable of triggering article 50 before the end of March.
“I think that it means that the government will have to get its skates on to make sure there is a replacement in place so he or she can work with Sir Ivan in the transition, the handover,” he said. “But the hard work is going to start very soon, because if article 50 is triggered, as the government says it wishes to, by the end of March, then negotiations will probably begin shortly thereafter. And having a handover in the middle of that, depending on when exactly he goes, is not ideal.”
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, tweeted that Rogers’ resignation meant the UK had lost one of its most experienced EU negotiators at a crucial juncture.
Ivan Rogers' resignation makes a good deal on Brexit less likely. One of the v few people at top of Brit govt who understand EU. @CER_London
“The [EU] 27 will take Rogers’ resignation as a sign that May’s government prefers to placate hardline sceptics than keep its top EU expert,” Grant said.
Rogers was appointed by Cameron, having previously worked as private secretary to Kenneth Clarke when he was chancellor.
His advice to No 10 about the length of time a trade deal could take to negotiate also reportedly carried the warning that such a deal could be rejected by any of the 27 national parliaments during the ratification process.
The Ukip donor and Leave.EU founder, Arron Banks, said Rogers had been “far too much of a pessimist” about Brexit. “It’s time now for someone who is optimistic about the future that lies ahead for Brexit Britain,” he said. “Enough talk, we need to get on with getting out.”